Story: Hunting

Page 3 – Hunting today

The New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association

The New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association was formed in
Invercargill in 1938, partly as a response by recreational
hunters to the government’s deer-culling efforts.
Recreational hunters were opposed to large-scale culling,
which they felt would reduce their hunting chances. The
association provides huts for members, and lobbies the
government.

Hunters vs conservationists

Deer are viewed by hunters as a valuable resource, but
conservationists see them as pests that destroy native
plants. Hunters want higher densities for better sport, while
conservationists would like eradication, or, failing this,
control at low densities.

Hunters are especially opposed to aerial drops of the
poison 1080, which is used to kill possums and also kills
some deer. The poison is dropped only on a small area of the
conservation estate, so in most areas, deer populations are
not affected. In many areas the only control on deer numbers
in the 2000s was commercial and recreational hunting.

The Department of Conservation regulates recreational
hunting on conservation land, and issues permits. Almost all
public conservation lands have open access with few
restrictions on the number of species of deer killed. There
are ballot systems at popular hunting areas such as Fiordland
(wapiti), the Blue Mountains in West Otago (fallow deer) and
Stewart Island (white-tailed deer). Hunters must enter a draw
to gain access to a hunting block for a specified period.

The roar

In autumn, the stags begin to rut, and they roar (a deep
throaty grunt) to announce their presence to other males in
the area, attracting them for a battle over females. Deer are
territorial, and the stag that chases off the others wins
mating rights to females (hinds).

The roaring of stags also gives hunters a chance to target
trophies – heads with large antlers. Normally very wary,
stags become aggressive in the mating season, which gives
hunters a chance to locate the ones with the best trophies.
Hunters roar back at stags, and even break twigs to fool them
into thinking another stag is nearby. Trophies are judged on
the number of points and the spread of the antlers, using a
system called the Douglas Score. This was developed by
Waikato hunter Norman Douglas in the 1940s.

Tourism

From the 1900s, English gentry began arriving to hunt
game. In the 1950s, North American hunters employed guides to
hunt chamois and tahr around Mt Cook. More recently, tourists
can pay a fee to shoot trophy animals at hunting reserves,
where deer are fenced in. Many recreational hunters turn
their noses up at this practice, as part of their ethos is
that the animal must have a good chance of escape – a concept
known as fair chase.